wednesday nite dinner no. 3

boy it's been a long time since i've posted. apologies are in order first, before moving on to this post. i've been so busy with work, the holidays, and other going ons that i've neglected my blog unfortunately. but i'm back and cooking again. the sf and la thanksgiving dinners were amazing and will be the next 2 posts i put up. but on to the current event... wednesday nite dinner no. 3!



only 4 of us could make it tonite and guests included: jeff, scott and becca.


1st course: king oyster mushroom tempura with a gruyere sauce


this was inspired by an appetizer i had a jack falstaff a couple months ago. that dish consisted of trumpet mushroom tempura (a less hearty but more intensely flavored mushroom) with a cheese fondue (not sure of the cheese). i opted for the king oyster which is grown for its hearty and meaty stalk and has the texture of sliced abalone. i then used your basic tempura batter and fried at 160* C until golden. the gruyere sauce was made from a bechamel (white sauce) with a 1/4 cup of grated gruyere stirred in. all in all a pretty tasty combination and nice alternative to the usual tempura dipping sauce. the mushrooms were very meaty and held up to the smooth, nutty cheese sauce.


2nd course: seared scallops and soba noodles in a citrus-soy vinaigrette served with roasted kabocha squash and sauteed pea sprouts


i found sea scallops for $9.99/lb at 99 ranch. you figure about 1/3 lb per serving which is 4-5 pieces. 99 ranch actually offers dry scallops, meaning they haven't been soaked in a chemical solution designed to improve shelf life and increase weight. if your scallops give off a milky liquid, it's been soaked in that solution. don't buy those.



i had difficulty getting a good sear on the surface and cooking it through to med-rare without drenching it in oil. i don't think my pan gets hot enough. i'll try this with a cast iron pan next time. but they were flavorful enough with just a pinch of salt and pepper in olive oil. the soba noodles were fantastic in roy yamaguchi's citrus-soy vinaigrette tossed with some sliced bell peppers and enoki mushrooms. the pea sprouts were quickly sauteed in some evoo, garlic, salt and pepper. the kabocha was roasted in the oven with evoo, s/p, at 400* for way too long. it dried out unfortunately. but it adds a nice visual to the plate.

3rd course: green tea mochi ice cream, diced fuyu persimmon and whipped cream in a ginger-mint syrup


now this dessert i'm actually pretty proud of. inspiration is attributed to an evening of gourmet glutton with chef paul and baker sarah a couple months ago. we had selections off the special dessert menu (wild creations and pairings at $10+, not the ubiqutous cupcake) and mine was an asian inspired conccoction of mochi, red beans, basil seeds and other things i can't remember in a slightly sweet brothy syrup. here i paired green tea mochi ice cream, which i love, with slightly sweet, crunchy fuyu persimmon, some whipped cream to add a creamy mouth feel, and the syrup which pulled mint and ginger flavors into everything. the syrup is a milder version of a sugar syrup, with only a quarter of the sugar and mint and a piece of crystallized ginger . worked out great!


overall this meal was probably the best executed out of the 3 wednesday nite dinners i've hosted so far. i'm realizing it takes practice in order to pull off a 3 course meal for a group, let alone on a wed nite. but consdering "jeff eats anything" and becca loves my cooking, it's nice to not feel too pressured. =)


the last seated dinner scott participated in was earlier this year when i did a gourmet vegetarian dinner for my veggie friend, jenny, who was relocating to beijing. fortunately for scott, this meal actually had meat, which he was quite happy with. although he liked the fried mushrooms more. go figure. =)


thanks jeff, scott and becca for your support! it was a fun dinner and nite...